Private Project

Every Grain of Dirt

Every Grain of Dirt documents life in South Lebanon under ongoing threats of displacement and war. As sweeping evacuation orders force over a million people from their homes, some choose to remain. Among them is Ismail, a shepherd who refuses to leave his village — even as bulldozers arrive to erase it, nearly burying him alive as he stands in defiance before the machine.

Filmed by three women who enter an active war zone to document these stories, the film moves between intimate testimony and a landscape under siege.

Through the voices of those who remain — and those who return — the documentary traces the persistent bond between people and land. It examines how land becomes a frontline: not only of war, but of identity, survival, and resistance against forces that seek to uproot and erase.

In every grain of dirt, a history persists; in every refusal to leave, a quiet act of resistance.

  • Aya Chouaib
    Director
  • Julie Mallat
    Director
  • Sarah Sinno
    Producer
  • Afsaneh Angelina Rafii
    Executive Producers
  • Madeleine Bazil
    Executive Producers
  • Yatou Sallah
    Creative Consultant
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    كلّ حبّة تراب
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    War documentary (human & land-based storytelling), Ethnographic
  • Runtime:
    18 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 15, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Lebanon
  • Country of Filming:
    Lebanon
  • Language:
    Arabic, English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Mixed-Media, Archival
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director - Aya Chouaib, Julie Mallat